


Two Doctors and a granddaughter

by Pearlislove



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Doctor Who Christmas Special, Gen, Twice upon a time AU with Susan Foreman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 08:37:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11665521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearlislove/pseuds/Pearlislove
Summary: "Well what do we have here, hmm? A lost little Scotsman!"Though he is old and grumpy and he holds a cane tightly gripped in one hand, he has not lost his pride. As he stands before Twelve, he stretches his back and straightens his legs, giving posture and dignity to his appearance.It was just as Twelve remebered, and yet not at all the same.





	Two Doctors and a granddaughter

**Author's Note:**

> Begun before 'The Doctor Falls'. Written because I was badly hoping Susan Foreman would be brought back for the christmas special along with the first doctor.

"Well what do we have here, hmm? A lost little Scotsman!"  
  
Though he is old and grumpy and he holds a cane tightly gripped in one hand, he has not lost his pride. As he stands before Twelve, he stretches his back and straightens his legs, giving posture and dignity to his appearances.

He had been so scared of being looked down upon back then.  
  
The Doctor looks at him, and it feels like looking in a mirror - which, in a way, it is. The old but dignified man before him is, after all, what he used to be, long ago, far before he became what he is now.  
  
Standing between them, blocking them off from one another like a thick but invisible  barrier, was twelve lifetime's worth of pain and anger and loss.

 

So much, that was to come for one, and had long since been for the other.  
  
The Twelfth Doctor had never been very fond of his first incarnation, ever, and had he had a choice he would not have come here at all. He would have told Five to go again and ignore it all, but it had been reasoned that he would be most successful in reaching out to him, and so, away he went.  
  
However, he sternly reminded himself, he was simply doing what must be done to save all that they loved. This meeting was one of the requirements to survive. His personal feelings for his earlier self was irrelevant.  
  
Still, it did not stop the older Doctor's hearts from skipping two beats as they saw an all too familiar girl in a striped shirt and black skirt exit the younger Doctor’s TARDIS.

 

Hearing her coming, the younger Doctor smiled fondly. “Ah, Susan, there are you are my child.”  
  
Seeing them, the girl smiled slightly, skipping over to her grandfather and grabbing his arm, holding onto it. "Sorry for taking so long grandfather.” She smiled again, her eyes focusing more intently on Twelve. “Oh grandfather, who is this? Is he a friend? A human? Or an alien perhaps?" Susan, as curious as Twelve remembered her to be, questioned. She bubbled with happiness and excitement and curiosity, but her elder gave her an uncertain look.  
  
"He has yet to say, my dear. It appears he is a very rude specimen of human from the Scottish island. An ignorant little Scotsman  that doesn’t even have the decency to answer the question I posed to him." As the first Doctor ended his speech, his eyes shifted from Susan to Twelve, glaring at him and huffing in disapproval. Obviously, the older man did not see who the younger man was, nor did he care, his mind already made up.  
  
"I think he looks kind, grandfather. What if he's friendly?" Susan, bless her, did not see the issue he grandfather did, and smiled kindly but obliviously at Twelve. It hurt, to be seen but not seen all the same, and suddenly his toughness seemed to loosen, allowing him to address his younger self and his granddaughter finally.  
  
"STOP!" He shouted, a little shocked himself to have started by snapping, but soon recovering, shaking his head. "I am not some impolite Scotsman! You should listen to Susan. She is right, I am friendly, and I am someone you know. And though I know your mental abilities are weak, old man, at least I thought you'd recognise _me_!" He doesn't like the man before him, never really did, but he still longs for recognition and understanding. He wanted to prove to himself that there was the safety of a future - a long, meaningful future. That billions of years of travel later he was yet to fail to regenerate.

 

God knows he'd needed it back then.  
  
The Doctor's been scared all since he left Gallifrey. Worried, that it was all going to go haywire. His old body could not support him forever and he was not quite sure what would happen when it stopped - if he could actually managing to regenerate without other Timelords by his side.  
  
"Grandfather!" Susan is the first to catch on, running across the floor to the older version of her grandfather and grabbing Twelve around the waist, holding on tight. It surprised him, but it didn’t feel half bad, and he quickly reciprocated the embrace as forgotten feelings seemed to surface once more. "It's you, isn't it, grandfather? You’ve regenerated!"  


He nodded, not sure his voice could carry, holding Susan even tighter as she smiled, obviously understanding at least some of what he could not say.

  
The other Doctor looked at them, both surprised and quite obviously upset. "What? What you on about now, silly little girl? Surely it can't be!" He protested, narrowing his eyes at the Doctor and moving closer to Susan. "A timelord, yes, perhaps...but me? Now that can't be, can it? Hmm? Come here you stupid girl!" He stretched out a hand, grabbing Susan roughly by the arm and forcing her to let go of the other Doctor as he backed off once more, pulling her along beside him.  
  
"Let me go!" Susan protested immediately, trying to twist out of The Doctor's grip so she could return to his elder regeneration, but the first Doctor held on tight, not wanting to let his granddaughter close to - to him - complete stranger. The Twelfth doctor could do naughty but watch her face twisting with pain at each attempt to pull free, the younger man’s grip tightening slightly each time. "Please!" She begged, voice rising as she finally seemed to give up trying to free herself. It was impossible, lest The Doctor decided he wanted to let her go.  
  
It pained the older Doctor to watch. He could see the desperation in Susan’s eyes, the rigidness of her body as she grew more afraid of what her grandfather was going to do. Even though he’d always loved her, and she always loved him, from the outside it was quite easy to see why some had thought their relationship to be abusive. And perhaps, sometimes, in some ways, it had been. He was stubborn and brash and only took notice of Susan and her will when it fit him, acting on whims that came and went like tidal waves. He cared for her and respected her, but was convinced he’d always know better. Treating her worse  than she deserved.  
  
Yet, in the end, he loved her. And he’d always do what was best for her, even if it meant fighting a former regeneration.

 

“Let her go! She is no stupid girl, and you should not talk to her as such.” He stepped forth, following The Doctor as he tried to back away from the - in his mind - crazed man trying to take his granddaughter. His younger self studied him intently, frowning, before finally, slowly, letting go of Susan, his hand hovering right beside her arm, ready to grab it again if necessary

 

Without hesitation, Susan joined at the older Doctor’s side, frowning slightly as she saw the fear in the younger version of her grandfather’s eyes. He did not mean to be mean, but he’d hurt her and she felt a bit scared, too.

 

Still, he needed to stop fearing his older regeneration.

 

“Grandfather please listen!” She could see the unspoken tension between the two versions of her grandparent, the version she was most familiar with still seeming scared of something happening to her. She sigh.

“Your both one and the same person. Just listen and try to get along. Please.” She glanced at the unfamiliar incarnation, who smiled slowly. There was a heaviness in his eyes and mind, and she could tell he had something to tell them. Something painful, he’d been carrying for a long time - longer than the familiar version of her grandfather had been around.

 

“Thank you Susan” Twelve said, not quite daring to squeeze her hand out of fear that he’d upset his earlier incarnation further, but letting his voice be filled with familiar warmth. “I am here for a reason. I was sent here, because our other incarnations need her help to save our people.”

 

“The Timelords?” The Doctor pulled a face. “God no! Any regeneration of mine should better than to affiliate with those. They can sort their own messes!”

 

“It’s not a choice. The Daleks have declared _war_ , and unless we do this, we will be forced to destroy Gallifrey!”

 

Behind him, he could see the sudden panic on Susan’s face as she heard his words, and he wished more than ever that it _was not_ true, but unlike his first body, he trusted himself. Always.  


“But you can't! You simply mustn't! You promised me to go back one day!” Susan all but screamed, tears streaming down her face as she ran all the way over to her other grandfather. “Grandfather you mustn't let your future incarnations destroy Gallifrey! It's our home!” She looked at both of them with begging, tear filled eyes, shaking as she tried to suppress a heartbreaking sob fighting it’s way out of her throat. “You promised me one day we’d go home!”

 

“Now, now, Susan, all will be good.” Both version of him felt alarmed at Susan’s strong reaction, and the younger incarnation pulled Susan in for a hug, holding on to her as he turned to address himself.

 

He looked at Twelve, and for just a moment, their eyes met. Young, dark eyes meeting old, light blue eyes. When the pain deepened, the color lightened.

 

As their eyes met they had a short moment of finally seeing each other face to face, without masks and pretenses. Twelve can sense the conviction of him and Susan settling in One, and he feels a resolve building in him, too.

 

They can do this.

 

The Doctor pats Susan on the cheek with one hand and hug her tighter. “Don’t you fret, my dear child, I will help protect Gallifrey. One day you _will_ go home.” He holds her tight as she continues to sob into his chest, for a few more minutes, the aftermath of the abject horror she’d experienced as he said she might lose her home clinging to her even after her grandfather promised to fix it.

 

Finally, though, Susan seemed to come back to her senses, drying her tears with an offered napkin from her grandfather. “Thank you grandfather. I know you can make it all alright. You always do!” She smiled, despite being an outlaw and exile still so very naive. Because, with her bare hundred or so years - a distinct memory of celebrating her 90th birthday with Barbara and Ian sometime in the past emerging as he watched her smile - she was still just a little child, and not much more. She might act as something much more, and compared to a human she was, but in the end a child was a child no matter what planet they were from.

 

A little child that relied on the both of them to fix this, whatever it took to get there.

 

“What do we have to do to fix this mess, old chap?” The First Doctor sigh, looking over at him with a weary sort of resignation. Twelve could tell he thought himself too old and too incompetent for such a task, but he needed to shoulder his responsibility as much as the rest of them.

 

“We need to go to Gallifrey. You need to go to the exact right moment in time and space and position yourself there, waiting for your other incarnations to appear.” He paused, making sure the man was understanding what he was saying. The man nodded, encouraging. “And then we will use the calculations to save Gallifrey.”

 

“The calculations?” Susan asked, watching him with big, glossy eyes, hanging on to every word he said. He was knight in shining armour, her home world the helpless maiden, and she was the peasant watching him ride off into the sunset.

 

“ _The calculations_!” The First Doctor exclaimed, shock clear on his face. “That is why that man in the horrible cricket uniform told me to start making those ridiculous calculations all those years ago!”

 

Twelve frowned, but nodded. “Yes. And I would not insult his dress sense. One day you will turn into him. He’s your fifth face, and probably the best one of us all, though he may never know.”

 

One nodded, and twelve could remember the shame of realising all the hurtful things he had said to himself - and remembered the pain of receiving that hate - but he knew he had started the calculations all the same. Five was precious, for he was the master of his emotions to the extent that none of his other bodies were. He could be happy one moment and furious the other, smoothing over his own emotions as soon as he no longer wanted them.

 

It made him perfect to carry the message, evidently convincing the man to calculate numbers without knowing their purpose.

 

“Susan, go back to the TARDIS.” One let go of Susan, stepping closer to Twelve without as much as looking back at his granddaughter.

 

“Yes grandfather.” Her voice only quivering slightly, Susan bowed her head and disappeared. She knew when her grandfather was better left alone, and sensed it was one such moment.

 

Watching the girl walk away, Twelve stepped closer, too. “What you thinking of, old man? Why did you send the girl away?”

 

“What happens to Gallifrey? You _are_ the oldest incarnation, are you not? You should have our collected memories of the events.” He glares at him, squaring his shoulders and straightening his back as much as he’s capable. The Doctor could tell his younger self would not take no for an answer.

 

“What does it matter to you? I need to leave soon or the universe will fall apart all together. I am going to leave you with time/space coordinates, and something I want you to tell the war council when you arrive. Just go there straight after this and keep your tracker on so we can lock onto you if necessary and ensure your in position.” Twelve turns around, attempting to walk away, but is soon stopped as he feels himself being pulled back by an iron grip holding on to his coat.

 

“Not so fast, old chap!” One roared, forcing him with one hand to turn around and face him. “You will tell me what happened to Gallifrey! I got a child in my TARDIS, and I’ve promised to take her home one day, on my word as Time Lord of the Prydonian chapter. I need to know what happened to her - **our** planet!” The man stepped even closer, leaving less than a centimeter of space between him and the other man. “It’s our home too. We may have left long ago, but it changes nothing. Our heritage is our duty, as old Braxiatel would have told us.” The man’s face is serious and stricken, and Twelve can feel his chest constricting as he thinks of his dead brother.

 

Of all things he’d missed when he lost his people, he had never thought his interfering, troublesome brother would be one of them, but he was. During his entire ninth regeneration, there hadn’t been a single day he wasn’t missing Romana and Braxiatel. Now, he had a chance to get him back, and Romana too. He just had to make the man in front of him play his part. He sigh. He had to tell him the truth, or else he would not cooperate. “Gallifrey lives. It will take you long to find out, longer than you’d like, but one day you will know that your planet made it.”

 

One nodded, frowning but understanding. “Thank you. Now, tell me what I need to know and I’ll be on my way, old man.”

 

“You will follow these coordinates.” The Doctor put forth the piece of paper he had been carrying in his pocket for so long, handing it to the other man. “And when you come there, you tell them that ‘This is the Doctor, calling the War Council of Gallifrey.” He smiled, a sliver of honest happiness leaking through. “Do all that, and leave the tracking on so our other incarnations can use your position to ensure their own, and all will be well.”

 

“And Susan will go home one day.” One said, completely disregarding the fact that he was also saving his species. The Time Lords could do as they wish, all that mattered was that there would still be a home for Susan to return to. “I’ll keep my promise.” There was such an aged look in his eyes, for a moment Twelve almost thought the man in front of him was the elder regeneration, for there was so much pain and heaviness in them, the fact that he could keep his promise to Susan the only thing lighting them up. It was an unselfishness he had forgotten in what he often regarded his most selfish regeneration.

 

It felt heavy and painful like stones and burning hot metal in his chest, because he is so young. Because he still thinks, still clings on to the hope that he will be able to take his Susan back home one day. He didn't know he would leave her behind, and that all too soon all would be over. A quick calculation of the timelines told him there was still much time left, but not as much as he wished. He smiles crookedly.

 

“You will, old man, you will. We made sure of it.” He smiles his most honest smile, ignoring the tears welling up in his eyes, waving his hand as the other man turn to leave.

 

“I’ll bring the war council your greeting. See you at Gallifrey.” And with that, the older man is gone, the TARDIS doors closing behind him and the hole structure fading out of existence a few moments later, leaving behind nothing but leaves blowing in the wind.

 

The Doctor sigh, slowly stepping away from where there had once been a TARDIS standing, and instead starting to walk in the direction of his own TARDIS. Preparing to face what was to come.

 

To face the end that’d been coming for so long.

  
  


 


End file.
